Rescuers spot missing AirAsia jet — Indonesia rescue agency chief

The AirAsia jet was en route from Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, to Singapore

SINGAPORE, December 30. /TASS/. Rescuers have spotted an AirAsia jet that had gone missing on Sunday, chief of Indonesian search-and-rescue agency Bambang Soelistyo told a news conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The AirAsia jet was en route from Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, to Singapore. About 40 minutes after the take-off the plane disappeared from the radar screens, presumably staying in the area of Kalimantan Island (Borneo). The Airbus A320-200 was carrying 155 passengers, including seven crewmembers. Most of the passengers were from Indonesia.

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that the jet requested at 6:12 am local time to ascend to a higher altitude of 11,500 meters and to turn left to avoid bad weather. Local authorities allowed the plane to only turn left and continue the flight at the altitude of 9,700 meters (32,000 feet) as there was another plane in the vicinity.

Shortly after, the contact was lost near the Borneo Island over the Java Sea.

This is the third air incident this year involving Malaysia, where the low-cost airline in based. The plane’s loss comes after the still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March and the crash Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in mid-July in eastern Ukraine.